TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Meta Taiwan has teamed up with the Institute for Information Industry (III) and launched a new base called the “XR Hub Taiwan” at digiBlock C in Taipei on Friday (May 6).
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Chuan-neng (林全能), and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk, attended the opening ceremony. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox did not show up physically due to travel restrictions, but he recorded a video and took part in the event from Silicon Valley.
Cox said there are three key elements to making the metaverse a reality: hardware needs to be built, infrastructure needs to be transformed, and access needs to be improved. “I cannot think of a better place to lead these three areas than Taiwan, as it is Asia’s silicon island and a crucial technology supplier,” Cox said.
The launch of the first Meta XR center reality hub coincides with the tech giant's vision for the metaverse. The CPO emphasized that this new community space aims to foster innovation in arts and culture, commerce, and social good.
Additionally, the hub will focus on supporting emerging technologies and Taiwan’s vibrant ecosystem of hardware manufacturers, software developers, and creators. Moreover, the nation's open and diverse community will be able to help build a responsible metaverse for a global user base, Cox said.
According to Meta’s head of public policy in Taiwan, Max Chen (陳奕儒), the first major step will be to cultivate talents and engineers who can develop creative content related to arts and culture. A number of project examples exhibited at the venue, such as the documentary “FORMOSA 3D” directed by Charlie Chu (曲全立), look at forgotten craftsmanship through augmented reality.
Chen said that Meta will collaborate with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, and Taiwan Computer Association, to launch a series of online and physical teaching programs, workshops, and contests. They will release more details soon.
Whoever has an idea or prototype regarding the metaverse is welcome to walk into the hub, III CEO Cho Cheng-hong (卓政宏) said.
Meta's XR Hub Taiwan is looking for visionaries. (Taiwan News photo)
Eye-tracking technology in the historic Shoyoen building in Kaohsiung. (Taiwan News photo)
Chris Cox joined the opening event from afar. (Taiwan News photo)
